They insisted on a meeting with Borisov and his Deputy, Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, but did not get a positive response.

Meanwhile, the demonstrators, represented by the National Grain Producers Association, were invited to meet with Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, but declined the invitation on the grounds he is not authorized to sign any decisions.

The Association’s Chair says – one the invitation came too late and two – people have trust only in Borisov’s words.

The grain producers demand adherence to the financial agreement signed by the cabinet in September, immediate lift on excise on fuel they use and Djankov’s and Naydenov’s resignations. They vowed to stage a new protest Wednesday. Their permit expires at 10 pm the same day, when they have to leave the city.

Meanwhile, Naydenov confirmed that the cabinet remains unwavering in not giving in to the grain producers in their demands for more funding, saying he favored their sector for a long time, and now is “enjoying the results of it.”

“They will receive what is slated in the budget – this is what we can do now; I wish it was more too. If we show weakness and yield to the pressure – we will have a domino effect,” the Minister stressed.

He appealed to the protesting farmers to act reasonably and stop the rallies, saying as a citizen and father, he wants Bulgarians to have on the table not only grain, but meat, fruits and vegetables.

Naydenov explained that the Association of Grain Producers first asked to meet at 9 am; then said it was too early and asked for 11 am, and then changed it to 2 pm, and finally were the only ones from the farming sector, who failed to show up.

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Bulgaria, the poorest EU member state, is said to feel cheated as the EU institutions are about to seal a new policy allowing six other member states, which are struggling financially, to be able to co-fund projects with much less money.

“Countries which maintain a strict financial discipline should not be punished and those that do not maintain the discipline should not be rewarded,” said a senior Bulgarian diplomat, as quoted by EurActiv.

“We are not in a position to block this legislation,” he added a day after the European Parliament voted in favor of the new proposal, stressing that Bulgaria will keep its position “in principle”

EurActiv reminds that the European Commission proposed last summer to increase the EU co-financing in cohesion, fisheries and rural development policies for countries that have received financial assistance under the balance of payments support mechanism – Romania, Latvia and Hungary- or under the European Financial Stability Facility – Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

This does not offer the six countries more money, but it enables them to “actually implement” some EU projects that would otherwise never be put in place, because of the inability of the countries to provide the remaining funds needed in the co-financing process.

In practice, Brussels has increased its co-financing rate by 10 percentage points.

For example, the EC will provide a maximum of 95% project financing in the case of Greece – from a previous 78% .

The Greek government would not need to provide the 15% usually requested to member states, but only up to 5% of the cost of a project.

In Ireland, the co-financing rate of the EU was only 50% and it will increase until a maximum of 60%, given its regions are richer and more competitive already.

According to an EU source, the deal that will be officially agreed between the ministers from all EU countries has already been struck and little if any is expected to change by 12 December.

“A change of the situation is not envisaged soon, but Bulgaria keeps its position also for the next multi-annual financial framework and for the future,” the diplomat added.

Bulgaria criticized the move as it did not understand why those countries which did spend the allocated EU funds were “punished” by not being offered the 95% co-financing alternative.

“EU funds are seen as a gold mine by new entrants in the EU, such as Romania and Bulgaria, according to EU sources. Despite the potential lying under the “mountain of money”, as a Romanian saying would put it, Romania continues to have the lowest fund absorption rate in the EU,” states EurActiv in its article.

“In some member states it was hard for countries to get projects done because there was a liquidity problem,” an EU official is quoted as saying.

Although Bulgaria is the poorest EU country, it is excluded from the beneficiaries because its macroeconomic indicators are stable.

Commenting on the adoption of the law by the EP, president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso said:

“Today we have taken an important step on the path to European recovery. I am glad that the Parliament acted so quickly and agreed to our proposal. This measure is Europe’s expression of solidarity with and support for Member States implementing painful economic adjustment programmes. They currently do not have much space for investing in growth and jobs. Our measure will inject into those economies funding essential for boosting their competitiveness and employment.”

Bulgarian daily Dnevnik quoted Prime Minister Boyko Borisov as saying that he is strongly against any support given to the bailout countries by reducing the ratio of national financing for EU-sponsored projects.

To the contrary, those who needed to be stimulated are those who respect the financial discipline, Borissov said. “If this ratio is to be lowered, then it should be lowered for all countries.”

MEP Danuta Huebner (EPP, Poland), rapporteur and Regional Development Committee chair, said that “the Parliament wants this derogation to apply as soon as possible”.

“Swift actions to help those hit hard by the crisis have been our priority. A temporary rise in co-financing ceilings will not affect total EU regional funding in the Member States but will allow funds to be concentrated on completing some projects and thus reduce the pressure on national budgets,” Huebner said.

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The governments of Bulgaria and neighboring Romania have asked the European Commission to help convince older member states to lift restrictions for job-seekers from the two countries as of 2012.

Bulgarian Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov and his Romanian counterpart Sebastian Lazaroiu have sent to this end a joint letter to Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Commissioner László Andor.

In the joint letter, the two ministers call on the European Commission to issue a report on the free movement of workers from their countries, which could serve as a basis for decision-making prior to the scheduled review of the restrictions at the end of this year.

“We strongly believe that such a report would help member states which still uphold restrictions on their labour market for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to take a positive decision for the restrictions to be lifted,” reads the letter.

“We believe that the free movement of workers must become a reality and that transitional measures should be removed at least two reasons: the free movement of workers is a fundamental right in the EU and the types of migration from new member states do not justify these measures,” the ministers point out.

Romania and Bulgaria are in the second phase of the restrictions placed on the labor market commonly referred to in EU circles as the “2+3+2-year arrangement”. The second phase ends on 31 December 2011.

Ten member states have kept job restrictions for the citizens of the two Balkan countries that joined the EU in 2007.

The restrictions can be kept for another two years, until 2013, if the countries present evidence to back up their claims that the Bulgarian and Romanian job-seekers are a burden for their labor markets.

The UK, Germany and Austria have also retained labour market restrictions for citizens of Bulgaria and Romania despite a recommendation from the European Commission that they be lifted.

Bulgarians and Romanians are also required to secure a work permit in order to take up a job in Ireland and Belgium.

The other EU-25 Member States that have notified the Commission of their decision to continue to apply national law on labour market access after 1 January 2009 include Italy, France, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands.

The presence of eastern European workers is extremely sensitive in Austria and Germany, which border the poorer region and the situation became even worse when recession started to boost unemployment rate.

The European Commission and the European Parliament can only recommend to the member states to open their labor markets for Bulgarians and Romanians, but it is up to the countries themselves to take the final decision.

It is doubtful however whether the joint efforts of the Bulgarian and Romanian governments will yield the expected results.

Earlier this year Austrian Labor Minister Rudolph Hundstorfer forecast that ten major EU member states will keep their labor markets closed for citizens of Bulgaria and Romania till 2014, the maximum period they are allowed.

This means that the ten Western European countries in question will wait until the end of the so called transition period of two-plus-three-plus-two – or up to seven – years after Bulgaria and Romania‘s EU accession in 2007 to open their labor market for Bulgarians and Romanians.

While Hundstorfer did not name the EU member states in question, it was obvious that he meant the ten countries still having restrictions: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, and the UK.

According to the Austrian Minister‘s forecast, these countries will keep the labor restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians as long as they are legally allowed to by EU rules.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry has joined the other EU countries in the recognition and welcome of the newest independent state in the world, South Sudan, which held Saturday, July 9, 2011, its independence ceremony.

“Six months after voting freely for independence in a democratic referendum, we witness the birth of Africa’s youngest nation. The peaceful road that led to today was made possible by the responsible behavior of all political leaders who in 2005 agreed to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said in a special statement.

“Bulgaria respects the will of the people of South Sudan and welcomes the independence of the new state. Next week we will recognise the independence of South Sudan and proceed to establish diplomatic relations. ?t the Independence day celebrations Bulgaria was represented by our permanent representative to the African Union,” he explained.

Mladenov further declares that Bulgaria stands ready, together with its EU partners, to support the new country in developing a democratic state, which is capable of delivering opportunities for economic and social development to its people. Bulgaria vows coordinate with the European Commission and the United Nations how best to support South Sudan in developing their healthcare, education and agriculture.

“Today the citizens of the young country are full of enthusiasm for their independence. Now they will be able to chose for themselves how to govern their country, how to use the natural resources of their land, but most of all – how to bear the responsibility for their own future. Bulgaria will develop its relations with South Sudan and with Sudan in the interest of the people of both countries and the stability of Africa,” Mladenov promised.

On 9 July South Sudan formally secedes from Sudan under the name Republic of South Sudan. The independence comes as a result of a referendum that took place in January and February 2011, where almost 99% of those voting opted for secession.

Secession will also mark the last phase of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, agreed in 2005, ending 21 years of civil war between North and South Sudan

Following European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet has voiced sharp criticism of financial rating agencies.

Thursday Trichet spoke about the existence of a “structure of international credit agencies similar to an oligopoly,” describing it as “highly undesirable.”

What provoked the unusually sharp criticism was the Tuesday downgrading of Portugal‘s debt rating to “junk” on the part of Moody’s, something that also provoked the ire of EC President Barroso.

Wednesday Barroso said the timing of the downgrade was “questionable” and raised the issue of the “appropriateness of behaviour” of the agencies in general, reported the BBC.

A Commission statement further characterized Moody’s move as “an unfortunate speculation.”

National leaders have also reacted to the events, with German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schaeuble calling for limiting the influence of agencies on global financial life.

On his part, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Stavros Lambrinidis, whose country is also suffering severe financial troubles, described the downgrading of Portugal‘s ratings as “madness” that could lead to a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”

After 2014 the European Union will allot direct agricultural subsidies only to active farmers and not to landowners who do not cultivate the land, the bloc’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Ciolos, announced.

Following the approval of the European Union budget proposal for the period 2014 to 2020, the European Commission is about to begin to prepare legislative proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It is expected to be published in October.

“We will propose a simplified financial support for small farmers and define clearly what a farmer and an active farmer means to avoid that subsidies go to the landowners who are not farmers and do not cultivate the land,” Ciolos said, as quoted by Agerpres agency.

Bulgaria can count on a 10-15% increase in the monies from EU funds after 2014, it emerged after the European Commission approved late on Wednesday a proposal for the EU budget 2014-2020.

The European Commission has proposed to streamline faster the levels of agricultural subsidies in the old and new member states, which according to Bulgarian European Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva can boost direct payments to Bulgarian farmers by 70%.

A total of 30% of the money, however, will be granted only on condition that the farmers develop organic agriculture, according to Commissioner Georgieva.

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The results of the July report of the European Commission (EC) under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) in the area of justice and home affairs will determine whether Bulgaria and Romania can join Schengen by end-2011, announced Hungarian Ambassador to Bulgaria Judith Lang.

“I hope that the report will provide favorable conclusions about Sofia and Bucharest. To sum up, the door to Schengen membership remains open to Bulgarians and Romanians and I hope that we will not have to wait until 2012 for this to happen”, Lang said in an interview for Deutsche Welle.

The Hungarian Ambassador to Bulgaria reminded that the EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers Council had already confirmed the technical preparedness of the two countries for joining the visa-free travel zone, which she termed “a fantastic result not only for Bulgaria and Romania but for the six-month Hungarian EU Presidency.

“This is why I am very optimistic that the Council will reconsider the issue of Bulgaria and Romania’s Schengen accession in September”, Lang added.

Although the Working Group on Schengen Matters (Sch-Eval) at the Council of EU has unanimously approved the report on Bulgaria’s technical preparedness, countries like France, Germany and the Netherlands have questioned the country’s ability to guard EU’s external borders.

The three countries have demanded evidence of lasting progress in the fight against organized crime and corruption before they allow Bulgaria to join Schengen.

In the meantime, a Europol expert warned that Bulgaria and Romania’s entry into the passport-free travel area may boost illegal immigration through the Greek-Turkish border.

“The potential Bulgarian and Romanian Schengen entry…may increase the immigration pressure upon the Greek-Turkish border and the Bulgarian Black Sea border may become an immigration target,” said Jean Dominique Nollet, head of Europol‘s “Analysis and Information” Department, during a conference  in Sofia on June 14.

The European Commission (EC) has opened three infringement procedures against Bulgaria over a flawed public procurement tender and the country’s failure to incorporate two Directives into its national legislation.

The first procedure involves a violation of European public procurement regulations on the part of the Electricity System Operator (ESO), a unit of Bulgaria’s state-owned power utility NEK.

EC has sounded the alarm about a flawed tender for hiring security services announced by ESO on August 05, 2008 for a period of 3 years and an estimated value of EUR 1 M.

ESO stands accused of violating EU principles of equality and non-discrimination after listing Bulgarian citizenship as a selection criteria and requiring all candidate companies to have a permit valid in only one of the remaining EU countries, more specifically, the UK.

In a separate infringement procedure, EC threatens Bulgaria and nine other countries with court action unless they report in two months’ time that they have incorporated the Directive on the Promotion of Clean and Energy Efficient Road Transport Vehicles into their domestic legal systems. The ten defaulting EU members were required to do this by December 04, 2010.

In a third infringement procedure, EC warns Bulgaria and four other member states that they will face the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg in two months unless they confirm that they have transposed into their national legislation the Waste Framework Directive 2008, which were to do by December 12, 2010.

Bulgaria has to return EUR 24.5 received for agriculture in 2009 to the EU budget, the European Commission has announced.

This money returns to the EU budget because of non-compliance with EU rules or inadequate control procedures on agricultural expenditure. Member States are responsible for paying out and checking expenditure under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the Commission is required to ensure that Member States have made correct use of the funds.

The money has been charged to Bulgaria for insufficient levels of on-the-spot checks, weaknesses in the LPIS-GIS and provision of inaccurate information and insufficient guidance to farmers with regard to area aid (also relates to area based Rural Development measures);

A total of EUR 530 M in agriculture money has to be returned by a total of 10 EU member states as a result of the European Commission‘s financial corrections. The Commission carries out over 100 audits every year, verifying that Member State controls and responses to shortcomings are sufficient, and has the power to claw back funds in arrears if the audits show that Member State responses are not good enough to guarantee that EU funds have been spent properly.

The EU 27 ministers for EU affairs have given a green light to the much anticipated Danube Region Strategy, which is supposed to help uplift economically Central and Southeast Europe.

Member States’ ministers for EU affairs adopted the Council’s conclusions about the Danube Region Strategy on 13 April 2011.

“Therefore, the first part of the Presidency’s agenda has been reached and completed. Now we turn to the pre-implementation phase, so the Strategy can commence with a swift start following the endorsement by the June European Council,” declared Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs, János Martonyi, who chaired the meeting, as cited by the website of the Hungarian EU Presidency.

In its meeting held in Luxembourg, the EU General Affairs Council approved the conclusions about the Danube Region Strategy developed by the Hungarian Presidency in recent months.

The starting point was the communication presented by the European Commission in December 2010, and the draft submitted to Member States, was a result of the intensive negotiations of recent months.

János Martonyi said in the meeting, that the adoption of the conclusions also means the end of theoretical debates.

“Macro regional strategies do not require new EU funds, new EU institutions or new EU instruments,” János Martonyi said at the press conference. This means  better alignment of funding, more efficient coordination of instruments and new ideas will be in focus, he explained.

EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, acknowledged the Hungarian Presidency for this initiative in the press briefing held after the meeting. “From a marketing perspective, this conveys a much more positive message,”Hahn added humorously.

In response to journalists’ questions, Johannes Hahn said that the action plan drafted by the Commission contains over 100 possible projects. According to the Commissioner, in the upcoming period the task will be to select the first projects to be implemented from among these.

“The first tangible and spectacular results are expected for next year”, the Commissioner added making it clear that a marked progress in the Danube Region is expected to be seen by 2020.

Member States agreed that there is a huge potential in territorial strategies, “In this particular case at the macro regional level, for contributing to the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU, for achieving EU objectives, for enhancing the importance of sustainable development, and for helping to adapt to future challenges the EU has to face.”

According to Member States, this will require a direction which matches the entire EU‘s long-term growth objectives, so the conclusions highlights that both the Europe 2020 growth strategy, and the European Sustainable Development Strategy served as guidelines in the development of the framework of the Danube Strategy.

The Danube Strategy is primarily an EU policy; however, the eight EU Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) are also accompanied by six non-EU Member States in it (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Moldova and Ukraine).

One of the strategy’s main aims is to reduce the economic discrepancies and ease the communication between the 14 nations: Germany (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Austria, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine (the regions along the Danube). Eight are Member States of the EU and six are not.

Together, the Danube region accounts for as much as 20% of the total EU territory and has 115 million citizens. It includes as well the poorest countries in EU (Bulgaria and Romania) as Austria and Germany.

Among the key areas in which the Danube strategy is focused on are tourism, transport, ecology, economical and social development.